KABUL, Afghanistan - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan plans to tighten the rules on night raids, The Associated Press has learned, in a new step to curb public anger over perceived violations against civilians.
Such raids have emerged as the No. 1 complaint among Afghans after Gen. Stanley McChrystal curbed the use of airstrikes and other weaponry last year.
NATO spokesman Rear Adm. Gregory Smith told the AP a new directive would be issued soon to set down new rules for night raids.
"It addresses the issue that's probably the most socially irritating thing that we do and that is entering people's homes at night," he said Wednesday. He would not elaborate pending a formal announcement.
The U.S.-led force has become increasingly sensitive to complaints by Afghan civilians as part of a renewed effort to win support among the public and lure people away from the Taliban. Last year McChrystal curbed the use of airpower and heavy weapons if civilians could be put at risk.
Smith said complaints about civilian deaths from airstrikes had dropped sharply after McChrystal's order last year but Afghans are "not seeing enough difference in our nighttime operations."
He acknowledged the possible tactical difficulties but said the problem needed to be addressed in the effort to win the confidence of Afghan civilians and keep them from supporting the Taliban.
"We're not going to be in a position to stop all that activity," he said but suggested more operations could be carried out during the day in less dangerous areas.
The UN said this month the percentage of civilian deaths attributed to pro-government forces had declined over last year. The UN blamed the Taliban for most civilian deaths.
Nonetheless, complaints persist that civilians are mistakenly targeted.
On Thursday, about 500 angry demonstrators chanted slogans against the United States and the Afghan government after four people were killed in a raid the night before in a village southwest of Kabul. NATO said the four killed were insurgents but villagers insisted they were civilians.
Witnesses said foreign troops descended the Qara Bagh district of Ghazni province in helicopters and stormed two houses at about 10 p.m. Wednesday. They killed a father and his two sons along with a neighbor even though they weren't armed, according to Musa Jalali and other residents of the Baram village.
NATO denied any civilians were harmed in the action. It said the raid was a joint operation with Afghan forces targeting a high-level Taliban commander who has organized attacks against Afghan and NATO troops and helped smuggle foreign fighters in the area.
"The joint force engaged insurgents while clearing a compound and killed them," the international force said in a statement.
One of those killed was a young man estimated to be about 15 years old who grabbed the weapons of a service member, it said, adding one insurgent was detained during the operation.
"They had no weapons, no grenades, not even one single bullet was found in their home," Abdul Samad, the victims' relative, told Associated Press Television News. "All those killed were innocent people ... We are asking government officials to think about us all the time and not only today. If there is any matter of concern, they should discuss it with our elders."
A decline in NATO killings of civilians has become a key U.S. goal for winning over the Afghan people. Public outrage over rising death tolls prompted the top commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal last year to tighten the rules on the use of airstrikes and other weaponry if civilians are at risk.
But such figures often matter less than public perception.
Provincial police chief Khial Baz Shirzai also said the four killed in Wednesday's raid were insurgents.
Jalali, however, said the slain father worked for a cell phone company and everybody knew him to be a good man. He said he believed a tipster had lied to NATO to provoke the raid against the man, a common complaint among Afghans who believe people use foreign forces to carry out grudges.
"Nobody cares about us ... even the governor can't help," he said. "We are finally raising our voices."
He and other protesters dressed in traditional Afghan clothing raised their fists and chanted anti-U.S. and government slogans as they marched from Baram, carrying the wooden coffins holding the bodies on vehicles, to the provincial capital of Ghazni. More people joined the procession as the procession reached Ghazni.
"Please we are not Talib. But one day maybe we will join with the Taliban because this is the third time this has happened and nobody is listening to us," said another protester, Habibulah Azizi.
